Damned Assignment
by Yumemakura
Summary: Alexander and Hephaistion do not get along with each other.  Concerned Aristotle sends them for an assignment in the snow-covered mountains.  A/H erotica


**Title: Damned Assignment  
Prompt: Damned**

It was rather depressing after the excitement of the first snow had faded. The sky was gray day after day, and the air was freezing cold especially when the strong northern wind blew. It was the hardest of the seasons. Both the mind and the body were ready and yearned for the spring. Yet, the lying snow patches were still thick on the ground and they were also tainted with dirt, since there were no accumulations of fresh flurries.

It felt even colder in this remote area of Mieza compared with the vibrant city of Pella where the Macedonian palace was. Everything had gone dormant, and even time seemed to slow down. On the other hand, the heat of the tension among the youths was rising. Their young bodies demanded the release of their built up energy inside.

As the numbers of the days they spent away from physical activities increased, their level of patience deteriorated. Arguments and fights broke more frequently among the youths and gave Aristotle a huge headache. It was one of those days. As soon as he noticed the signs of disagreement, Aristotle regretted his choice of the discussion, but it was too late. He should not have chosen the Iliad as a material, especially not the part where Patroclus died. It was too emotional.

"Achilles was consumed with pride."

"No, Hephaistion, it was not a matter of pride, but it was a matter of dignity."

"It was the dignity only of himself, Alexander, he was selfish."

"No, he was a man of honor!"

"But, Patroclus might not have died if Achilles had fought with him side by side!"

"That is enough both of you. We will continue this discussion when you have both calmed down and are able to make an argument in a more logical manner, not by being overrun with emotions."

Aristotle interrupted the argument. It was a pity that Alexander and Hephaistion did not get along. Aristotle could clearly see the possibility of them becoming the best of friends, but Alexander and Hephaistion did not get it; on the surface they were very different, yet they were so similar deep down. They shared the same passion in their hearts. Yet, their eyes were too clouded with stubbornness to see the real quality in each other.

Hephaistion thought that Alexander was overconfident. Surely he was the prince, but it did not mean that everything he said and did had to be right and the best. He had no intention of agreeing with Alexander just because he was the prince. On the other hand, Alexander thought Hephaistion was arrogant for arguing with him on every single thing. He did not want him to agree with him on everything like most of his other friends did, but at least Hephaistion could show him some respect.

As beautiful as he was, Hephaistion received a lot of offers from elder men. Each one of them tried to court him by giving him a rare and exotic plant and bird, but Hephaistion refused them all. When he was questioned for the reason why he did not take any erastes, he answered that he was not be bought by money. Alexander thought Hephaistion was acting too snobbish.

Aristotle sighed deeply. He knew that Alexander needed a friend whom he could trust almost blindly. However, this person had to be intelligent enough to see Alexander's faults and more so brave enough to confront with him. He also believed that Hephaistion was the only one who could fulfill this role, but it seemed to be impossible for them to become friends if they could not shift their paradigm.

Aristotle had to find a way for them to become better acquainted with each other very soon while their minds were still young and flexible. If he waited any longer, their opinion of each other would be molded permanently. Some extreme measure had to be taken. Consequently, Aristotle decided to take a risk, and called Alexander and Hephaistion into his study.

"I have a new assignment for you."

Alexander and Hephaistion just stood in front of Aristotle wondering why they were the only ones who were called in.

"You know that there are those times that even enemies have to help each other to survive. I will put you both under the test of how successful you would be in those circumstances. I think you are the perfect pair since you do not seem to agree upon anything."

Aristotle bit his smile when he noticed that both of them rolled their eyes in annoyance at the same time without knowing what the other was doing. He continued.

"You will leave for Mount Voras in the morning with food and drink that is enough for three days, basic camping supplies and weapons, change of clothes, and a fur cloak for each of you. Your assignment is to survive on the mountain for ten days. With just two of you."

"Ten days in the freezing mountains on foot with only three days food? It is impossible." Hephaistion was the first to protest.

"No, it is not impossible, we still can hunt."

"That is if we could find a slow enough prey before we starve ourselves to death."

"Don't worry Hephaistion, you can just follow me."

"And babysit you? No thank you."

"Babysit me? I'll show you who would babysit whom."

"I will tell you one more time, it is enough." Aristotle interjected. "It had been already decided."

"What if I refused?" Hephaistion was serious.

"Yes, and what if I requested a different partner?" Hephaistion glared at Alexander.

"Well, King Philip had already agreed with the plan, so Hephaistion, if you refuse, then you are throwing away your future in the Macedonian army. And Alexander, if you fail your father's test, you might as well forget about being a king."

Aristotle smiled inwardly again, seeing both Alexander and Hephaistion bite their bottom lips in aggravation.

Next morning, after the last hot meal they could freely enjoy for a while, they left for the snow-covered mountains. Hephaistion was in a dark mood, but Alexander was somewhat cheerful. He thought that this could be a great opportunity for him to teach Hephaistion who really was the superior.

They walked along the narrow winding path in silence. The snow made it difficult to distinguish where the path led as they went deeper into the mountain.

"Alexander, slow down. This is not a contest of how fast you can reach a certain point, but to survive for the next ten days."

Alexander did not realize how fast he was walking until Hephaistion mentioned it, however he objected.

"If you walk faster, you can keep yourself warmer. Besides, we have to find a shelter to spend the night as soon as we can."

"But you use more energy by doing that. You remember that we have only three days supply of food, don't you? We should conserve."

"Like I said, we can always hunt and gather wild fruits and plants."

"In the middle of the winter?"

A flash of doubt crossed Alexander's mind, but he kept going. He needed to prove his point, and let Hephaistion know who was in charge. In a way, Alexander was right. As soon as they stopped to rest, the cold air quickly stole the warmth from their bodies, and they had to either keep going or make fire to warm them, which was not easy since everything was covered with snow and thus wet.

On the first night, they did not find any place where they could spend the night. So they built a shelter making walls around them with snow. They put cypress branches on the ground and across on the top for a ceiling to keep them dry. They laid one fur cloak on the ground, and the other to cover them both. It was almost impossible not to have physical contact, but they stayed away from each other as far as possible by facing in opposite directions. Yet, they still felt uneasy sensing the radiating heat from the other's body on their backs.

For the next couple of days, they moved around searching for food and better shelter. They had been eating less to stretch their food to last longer, but they knew that if they did not find any supplement very soon, then they would surely starve to death before their ten-day quest was up. The constant hunger, cold, tiredness, and uncertainty made them more irritable than usual.

When the path separated into two directions, they argued again as to which way they should take.

"It is better to go up. We have a better chance to find a cave for a shelter."

"I say we go down to the valley, Alexander. We may find a stream, there is a better chance to catch an animal that comes for the water."

"But, there is no shelter there, we may be attacked by wolves who come for the water."

"We could wander into the cave of bears!"

"Well, I am the prince, Hephaistion, I would say that we go up, and you follow me."

Alexander regretted as soon as he said that, but it was too late; he could not take his words back. Hephaistion shot an icy glare, but he did not say anything.

As they climbed up higher, the path became narrower and steeper. Walking became more difficult as freezing rain settled onto the snow coating the surface with thin slippery smooth ice. Crunching sounds echoed in the absolute silence each time their feet crushed the icy snow underneath.

Hephaistion followed Alexander's footsteps while cursing under his breath. Mental concentration on his every footstep so as not to slip and fall was exhausting, and the lack of food made him light headed. The sharp cry of a bird shot in the air, and broke his concentration. When his left foot stepped onto an uneven surface, he lost his balance.

Before Hephaistion even noticed, he was falling. He thought that he heard a scream, but it could have been the cry of the bird. He desperately tried to clutch at anything his fingers touched, but as he tumbled down the slope, the falling speed increased, and his fingers grabbed nothing but empty air. Hephaistion heard Alexander yelling his name before he felt a sharp pain on the side of his head, and everything went white, and then black.

Alexander watched Hephaistion fall as if the scene was played in slow motions. He slid down the slope in a vain effort of stopping Hephaistion. The side of his leg burned, but he did not care. Hephaistion's body finally came to a halt when he landed at the bottom of the valley at the stream. The lower half of his body was immersed into the icy crystal clear water.

Alexander knelt by unconscious Hephaistion, and pulled him out of the freezing water. He carefully examined Hephaistion's limp body; to his relief, nothing seemed to be broken except there was a big bump on the side of his head. He had to find a shelter and make a fire quickly, if he did not get Hephaistion out of his wet clothes, then even if his injury were minor, he would freeze to death for sure. At least his fur cloak was out of the water, along with his fur sack where his extra dry clothes were.

Alexander carefully surveyed the surroundings. There were several mounds of sweet berry honey suckle bushes at his chest height. When Alexander cut out the side of one of them, he found that the inside was hollow like a cocoon with soft dry branches covering the ground. It was a perfect shelter. He spread Hephaistion's cloak on the branches, and set the fur sack above it as a pillow after taking out the change of clothes.

Then he picked up Hephaistion and carefully laid his head on the fur pillow before peeling off his wet clothes. The slender yet muscular body of Hephaistion emerged out of the woolen chiton and linen loincloth. Looking at the completely naked beautiful body in front of him, Alexander's heart started to beat faster and stronger. It required all of his will power not to run a finger on the smooth skin.

He put a dry chiton and loincloth back onto Hephaistion's body with shaking fingers, and took his fur cloak off to cover him. After making sure that Hephaistion was warm enough, Alexander built a fire in front of the entrance of the shelter. There were enough dry branches under each mound of bushes for the fire.

To his delight, Alexander found plenty of berries still left inside of the cocoon being untouched by wild animals. After hanging Hephaistion's wet clothes on sticks arranged by the fire, Alexander sat at the entrance of the shelter and started to build a fish trap using the honey suckle vines, while nibbling the sweet bell shaped deep blue colored berries.

Hephaistion moaned softly, and Alexander turned around. He was met with Hephaistion's confused gaze. He crawled back into the shelter, and crouched by him. The ceiling of the shelter was just high enough for them to sit up.

"What happened?"

"You slipped and fell down the slope."

"Oh…" Hephaistion tried to sit up, but Alexander stopped him by gently putting his hand on Hephaistion's shoulder.

"You have a nasty bump on your head. It's better not to move for a little while longer."

"You are bleeding, Alexander."

"It's nothing, just a scratch." He looked on the side of his grazed knee noticing his injury for the first time.

"It still needs to be cleaned up."

"I will when I go to the stream to set a trap."

"You made a trap?"

Hephaistion's gaze traveled onto the fish trap he had left at the entrance, and then upon his clothes by the fire.

"I had to change you because you tumbled into the stream. You were all wet." Alexander felt a heat rise up onto his cheeks. He picked a berry from the ceiling to hide his embarrassment.

"Here, have some. It's not much, but better than nothing."

He pressed a small berry against Hephaistion's lips until he took it in between his teeth. Alexander's fingers lingered a moment longer while Hephaistion's soft lips wrapped them around, their eyes locked onto each other's for the whole time.

"It's so sweet…"

Hephaistion's bright smile followed by the raspy murmur made Alexander's heart jump.

"I'd better go and set the trap up before it gets too late."

"Let me come with you."

"No, you stay here and watch for the fire."

"Wait."

"What?"

"At least take your fur cloak with you. I'll be warm enough with the fire going."

"All right, I'll be back in no time."

That evening, their backs were pressed against to each other a little tighter. They both had to concentrate on their breathings really hard so that the other would not notice the change, and hoped that their fast beating hearts would not echo through their backs. Eventually, exhaustion took over and they fell asleep.

Next morning when Alexander woke up, he found them face to face holding to each other with their legs tangled. He touched the side of Hephaistion's head examining the bump. He was satisfied to find out that it was less tender and swelling was smaller than yesterday. Hephaistion stirred and opened his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Alexander greeted while pushing Hephaistion's silky hair away from his face, and settling his palm on Hephaistion's cheek.

"Better." Hephaistion lowered his gaze for a moment before looking up at Alexander again. "Thank you for saving my life, and I am sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for acting like such a boor around you. I had misunderstood you."

"Oh, don't worry, I am as guilty as you are. I thought you were arrogant."

"Well, I was, and I thought you were overconfident and obnoxious."

"Well, I actually was in front of you."

They laughed delightfully admitting their faults. It felt so good to be able to exchange their honest opinions, and still not get mad at each other.

"Are you feeling well enough to check out the trap?"

"Most certainly."

They laughed some more when they found two fat fish in the trap. It seemed that even their luck had changed course for the better as soon as their attitude to each other had changed, and they became as friends. They picked up some watercress, and dug out Jerusalem artichokes to cook them with fish.

"You were right, Hephaistion, staying closer to the stream was much better."

Leaning back on his elbow, Alexander admitted. Hephaistion just smiled. He wondered if it was the newly formed friendship with Alexander that was making him so fulfilled and happy, or it was simply because of his full belly.

Their contentment did not last into the night. A small pack of wolves sniffed out the smell of the food, and roamed around their shelter ready to attack as soon as they saw the chance. Alexander and Hephaistion fought against them by sticking a spear and a sword from the inside when they came too close to their shelter. The pack finally gave up and left them alone when the dark sky started to change its color into pale grey.

"You were right, too, Alexander. This is not a safe place. We would not have survived if the pack had been larger or if it had been a bear. We need to find a safer shelter."

"Yes, I agree. But, let's not move too far away from the stream. We still need food to survive."

"That's the plan, then."

They were surprised how easy it was to agree once they understood each other. They gathered their belongings and walked down the stream.

"Look, that is perfect."

Alexander pointed out a simple triangle shaped shed against the slope of the mountain on the ledge. It was close enough to the stream to gather food, yet was protected from the wild animals.

"Seems like we found the place to spend the next couple of days." Hephaistion stated.

Alexander could not help but feel disappointed to realize that they had almost completed the mission, and after only a couple more days, they had to leave this world of their own.

As it looked from outside, the little shed was perfect. It had a small hearth at the back for heating and cooking. Somebody must have lived here until not too long ago, it was clean and well maintained. They had even left extra furs, clean linens, and plenty of dry firewood. There was even a big iron and a ceramic pot by the hearth as well.

"It's almost like home.' Hephaistion murmured.

"Yes, it is. You know what I miss the most?"

"What?"

"Nice hot bath."

"That sounds wonderful. Too bad that they did not leave a bath tub."

"Oh, but we can boil water in the pot and clean ourselves."

They grinned to each other at the idea. They filled both the pots with snow, and put the iron pot over the fire. When it boiled they poured it carefully into the ceramic pot. The snow melted instantly, and filled a large pot with the inviting steamy hot water. Alexander put his fingers into the pot.

"It's just right."

They wet their hair with small amounts of warm water, and then poured some olive oil over to rub it in. Alexander scooped the warm water out of the pot using a small cup. Hephaistion took it from Alexander's hand.

"Here, let me help you."

Alexander closed his eyes. The running warm water against his scalp felt heavenly good.

"Thank you, now it's your turn. I have to work harder since your hair is lots longer than mine."

Hephaistion mockingly punched Alexander's upper arm.

After they dried their hair with clean linens, they used small cloths to wipe themselves. They could not help stealing a gorgeous sight of the other man's naked body.

"Turn around Alexander."

Hephaistion ran the cloth gently wiping from Alexander's shoulder blade along the spine to the beginning of the round curve. Feeling the hard muscles under his palm, Hephaistion sensed the blood rush into his flesh, and thanked the gods that Alexander was facing to the other side. It was not that he was ashamed of his arousal, but he was afraid that it was only him who had felt that way.

"Now let me do your back."

Alexander pushed Hephaistion around. He run a warm wet cloth slowly against Hephaistion's spine until it reached right above his crack. Hephaistion bit his lips hard so that a moan would not escape. His heart was beating painfully fast.

After washing each other's backs, they laid themselves onto the narrow fur bed completely naked. The bed was just wide enough for two people to lie without touching each other. The image of Hephaistion's beautiful body when he peeled his wet clothes off, and the bare back he just ran the washcloth down doubled in Alexander's mind. The attack of the sudden urge of waves to touch his friend's smooth skin was overwhelming.

Alexander moved his little finger until he touched Hephaistion's. Hephaistion did not withdraw; instead, he locked it around Alexander's. Encouraged, Alexander entwined their whole fingers and pushed himself up on his elbow. Hephaistion's eyes were squeezed shut.

"Open your eyes. Let me see them."

Hephaistion slowly opened his eyes; they were swimming with the emotions in the dim light of the burning fire in the hearth.

"I want you." Alexander whispered against Hephaistion's lips.

"So do I." Hephaistion's raspy voice made Alexander forget everything.

He traced the outer edge of Hephaistion's lips with a tip of his tongue before sucking his full bottom lip. Hephaistion responded by pressing his lips harder against Alexander's. Their kiss deepened and they moaned into each other's mouths. Their hands roamed all over each other's bodies, feeling the hard muscles ripple under the smooth skin.

Alexander broke the contact for a moment causing Hephaistion to whimper. He slid out of the bed, and walked by to the hearth to fetch the vial of olive oil. Hephaistion dreamily looked up at Alexander who was standing against the flickering flames. Alexander walked back to the bed, and poured the oil onto Hephaistion's palm and then his. They coated each other with slick oil. Feeling the other man's hand touching your flesh was extremely arousing.

Alexander covered Hephaistion's body with his, and Hephaistion immediately wrapped his arms around Alexander's back. Their kisses were needy now, with desperate moans. Alexander ran one of his hands along Hephaistion's side, and rested it at his thigh, the other cupping Hephaistion's face. While one of Hephaistion's hands rested at Alexander's shoulder blade, and the other squeezed Alexander's buttock.

Alexander thrust himself in between Hephaistion's thighs; the hard muscles and the intensive heat wrapped around him, and inside of his head became completely blank. Each time he moved, the muscles rippled around him, and he felt Hephaistion's fully aroused hot flesh slide in between their oil slicked bodies. They moved in complete unison. First slow and tender like the waves in the bay, then faster and rough like the waves in the middle of the Ionian sea.

The winter shed was filled with heated moans and the sound of flesh slapping against flesh. When the wave came to its height, their bodies froze. Hephaistion squeezed Alexander in between his powerful thighs, and Alexander sucked Hephaistion's mouth with ecstatic desperation. Hephaistion responded by arching his back. After the dust of passion settled in its place, they exchanged a tender kiss before snuggling into each other's arms to fall asleep exhausted, yet happy.

"I will never make you fight by yourself, Hephaistion. I will always be with you."

"And I will follow you till the end."

Two days of their honeymoon passed too fast. They left the shed behind reluctantly. When they arrived at school, Aristotle was waiting for them at the gate.

"Welcome back Alexander and Hephaistion. Congratulations to both of you for completing your mission successfully. I hope you have learned a valuable lesson."

"Yes, we did master Aristotle."

Alexander replied, and Hephaistion handed Aristotle a small sachet of linen before walking back to their room. Aristotle smiled and murmured when he found a handful of sweet berries of honeysuckle in the sachet.

'_Honeysuckle; the bond of love. I guess they found the best use of the shed, and learned about more than friendship.'_

He narrowed his eyes watching two youths walking back to school; Alexander putting his arm around Hephaistion's shoulder, and Hephaistion's arm wrapped around Alexander's waist. The old philosopher was unconsciously rubbing the soft material of the sachet between his fingers, as if he could bring back an old memory by doing so.


End file.
